– Europe has won the 45th edition of the Ryder Cup with a final score of 13-15, despite suffering a crushing defeat in the final session, the singles matches, with a score of 8.5-3.5. If you haven’t watched Sunday’s play, don’t be fooled into thinking that the Americans, starting with a seven-point deficit, have simply done an efficient and tidy job of damage control. Not at all. The harsh reality for the continental side was that Keegan Bradley‘s team came very close to achieving a comeback never seen before in the history of this competition. After the ordeal experienced by the American team and the thorough thrashing they suffered on Thursday and Friday, let’s conclude that an excellent Europe in the pairs play has won the Ryder again on American soil, which hadn’t happened since 2012, but also that the Stars and Stripes team has salvaged honour and credibility when all roads seemed to lead to a dire defeat.
– Finally, Viktor Hovland couldn’t play, so Harris English was left without a match, and each squad shared half a point from the start. We’ll never know what might have happened with the Norwegian’s participation, but given how much it has cost the continental team to score, perhaps that half point should be considered a blessing in hindsight. In the eleven matches in play, only Ludvig Aberg managed to score a full point, to win, that is. You wouldn’t have thought so after seeing the boys in blue in the first two days. Such is the Ryder, a parallel universe governed by often inscrutable impulses.
– If there were still those who thought the Swede needed a bit more seasoning to become a heavyweight in this competition (the undersigned, for example), this might be the opportune moment to give full credit to the cheerful and composed Viking. Because his opponent in this singles session was Patrick Cantlay, a real thorn in the side from whom, whether he plays a bit better or worse, you can and should expect his best version when it comes to crunch time.
– Aberg should be as much a hero for the continental side as the man who will take all the honours (also well-deserved, of course): Shane Lowry. The Irishman, in an afternoon that had become definitively tangled for his squad, with cold sweat already running down the back of Luke Donald and company, saved the half point that took Europe to fourteen and thus served to, at the very least, retain the cup in the event of a final tie. He did it, moreover, with a stellar birdie on the 18th hole to snatch that half point from a Russell Henley who redeemed himself in the final session and intensely projected his status as World Number 2. Be very careful with the match they were playing: Henley tied his match after being the guy who made the most birdies at Bethpage, seven, this Sunday. The Lowry of the 2021 or 2023 Ryder would have been blown away, but this Shane is finally the Shane you would expect in the most imposing forum of world golf. A guy, for example, with enough guts to overcome such a critical situation and lead you to glory.
– We must also not forget the third great European protagonist, Tyrrell Hatton, who secured another half point to, now yes, celebrate victory to the four winds. “The last six or seven holes have been a horror, to be honest,” said the Englishman with the overall victory in the bag, referring to those long minutes when Bethpage was heating up and the shadow of the miracle among miracles was becoming visible, clouding understanding and drying the mouths of the European players on the field. Once Rose and Fleetwood had lost by the narrowest margin on the 18th hole to Young and Thomas, one would look at the scoreboard and, as incredible as it seemed, no matter how much one rubbed their eyes, the winning calculations for the European squad were no longer so clear, with most matches tied or with an American advantage.
– It would also not be accurate (or fair) to describe the singles day as a European disaster. It wasn’t, even if it might seem so. It’s true that the points were falling on the local side, but it’s equally true that almost all the matches were reaching the 18th hole, adding greater drama and excitement to the outcome. One of them was the match between the World Number One and Number 2, Scheffler and McIlroy, which fell to the Texan. A duel, by the way, not too brilliant, undoubtedly hampered by the trauma Scottie brought from the previous two days and the emotional strain experienced by the man from Holywood.
– The battle was hand-to-hand. A sporting blessing. Of the eleven matches in play, eight reached the final station and, therefore, with the exact distribution of points to be decided. And two others ended on the 17th. Only Xander Schauffele was able to win comfortably (4 and 3). He did so with a very compact and brilliant game in several phases against a somewhat off-colour Jon Rahm.
– Europe should never forget who they are up against, the greatest power ever in the sport of the fourteen clubs, although that doesn’t seem to have been the problem this Sunday. And the American team shouldn’t leave everything to talent and that endless line of extraordinary players they have. There must be some key to tip the balance, especially when in two years they step onto European soil, where they haven’t won since 1993. However, Luke Donald, whose face paled as the afternoon fell at Bethpage, has witnessed first-hand the three victories on American soil that Europe has achieved in the 21st century. He did so in 2004, when he debuted as a player, repeated in 2012, the miracle of Medinah, and now he has done so as captain, in New York. They say the smart thing is to step aside at the height of success, but we’ll have to see if they let him.
